This invention relates to non-networked RFID authentication.
The very nature of products moving across multiple locations over long distances and under the responsibility of different entities (businesses or individuals) provides many opportunities for a supply chain to be compromised. Containers of high-value products, such as luxury goods, sports collectibles, and pharmaceuticals, may be accessed at various points in the supply chain and replaced with counterfeit or compromised products with minimal disruption to normal supply chain activity.
In recent years, radio frequency identification device (RFID) technology has been adopted by manufacturers of high-value products to track and secure products as they move through the supply chain. RFID tags typically take the form of a self-adhesive label with an integrated “silicon chip-antenna” unit. These labels can be adhered (or otherwise affixed) to individual products or used to seal containers holding multiple products. Each RFID tag is operable to receive and response to radio frequency signals from an RFID transceiver. Because the tags' electronic memory can be read or written from a distance, a direct line of sight with the product or container is not necessary to track its whereabouts. Products are tracked as they make their way from the manufacturer to their final destination through multiple intermediaries (e.g., distributors and retailers), and tag readers are notified if a tag or product somehow strays from the designated route.